A-Z time again! And it wouldn't be us if it didn't start with a terrible selfie... Read on...

A is for Another Tough Year, although the last couple of months have been much, much better than their predecessors, so we're hoping that's a trend.

B is for Brief Version. When the year started, we were still in the British Isles, having a much appreciated catch-up with family. Home is still Kuching, Sarawak, East Malaysia, and by mid-April that's where we were heading. On the way, we stopped for a month in Istanbul and a week in KL, but we were reinstalled in our flat by the end of May. And Sarawak is where we were until yesterday, when we arrived in Fukuoka, Japan. All good, except that...

... C is for Challenges, the biggest of which this year was Nigel's health. It all started mid-March, and the bare bones are these: Weeks and weeks of constant, often severe headaches; various tests while we were in England; horrible medicines that caused even more problems; improvements followed by depressing relapses; an MRI in Istanbul, which we were told to follow up once home; consultations that became ever more worrying; and, finally, surgery in Kuching in September to remove a golf-ball-sized lump (mercifully non-malignant) from inside his head... We're thankful that the thing was discovered, because its continued expansion could have had catastrophic consequences. And we're enormously grateful for talented doctors, an optimal surgical outcome (none of the dire things they were worried about eventuated), and a full recovery. Phew...

D is for that Dastardly Virus. We had our second encounter with it in July, and unfortunately, we lost a few days from our 35th wedding anniversary road trip, which we were very much enjoying, because we had to go home and isolate.




E is for Ever-Advancing Years. I'm a bit sick of getting older, to be honest, and it all seems to be happening sooner than I anticipated. Still, better that than the only alternative, I guess...

F is for Food, which just has to have its own category. Kuching food is F for Fenomenal, and we love trying out new places and dishes.



G is for Gained Kilos (see E and F, plus comfort-eating on account of C...)


H is for Habits, and they've not changed much from last year. No sudden forays into sky-diving or sousaphone-playing or yak-rearing... We walk. A lot. We read. We watch movies from all over the place. I learn languages. I write. Nigel designs software, invests, listens to music, and follows the worlds of motor sport and canal-boating. We constantly find ourselves wishing we had more time...


I is for Istanbul. Nigel was still taking things very easy at that point, but even with that constraint, we loved our time in this city. It's a great place for walking; the food is fabulous; the history is fascinating; and there are cats everywhere. Really, nothing not to like...



J is for Journey Plans. It's nice to be able to make them again, even if there's still a lot of uncertainty around. We're hoping to head over to Europe in February. Fingers crossed....

K is for Kyushu, Japan's third biggest island, which is where we're planning to stay for a few weeks, mainly walking and riding the trains. At the moment, we're in Fukuoka, but we're also planning some time in Nagasaki.




L is for Local Travel. We pretty much stayed put once we were back in Sarawak, but we did manage some excellent day trips; had a really idyllic stay in a tree house at Santubong; and to make up for our ill-fated July experience (see D), we completed a covid-free road trip in November. Sarawak is full of interest, and we've hardly scratched the surface so far.




M is for Man, as in Isle of Man, where we stayed for a month during our British Isles sojourn. We had all kinds of weather thrown at us, but for me it was quite magical, and I really felt I reconnected with my birthplace. (For pictures, start here, and work forwards.)



N is for Now, which -- I keep reminding myself -- is all we ever really have.

O is for Old Stuff. We did quite a bit of digging around in English history while we were in Nottinghamshire (and neighbouring Derbyshire and Lincolnshire). You know how, once you get interested in something, it starts popping up everywhere? The Knights Hospitaller, the Wars of the Roses, the "thankful villages"; drains and viaducts and deserted airfields; Bess of Hardwick, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Barnes Wallis... Anyway, it all made for fascinating exploration, especially as we did a lot of it on foot.




P is for Purple Tern. It has come into its own a bit more this year, after 2021's very thin pickings. Even so, for a lot of the year we've been at home, and it's all been pretty much "what we ate" or "where we walked". I wonder about just not posting while we're in Kuching. Then again, it's nice to have a place where we can put photos, and enthuse about culinary discoveries, and note down the itsy-bitsy pleasures and frustrations of everyday life... Dunno... What do you think?

Q is for Quashed, which is what happened to Q in the 2021 newsletter... Yes, really!! How could I -- of all people -- Quietly Quench Q???! The very thought makes me Q for Queasy.

R is for Retirement, a state we very much appreciate.

S is for Socializing, which has now, thank goodness, become possible again. It's been great to be able to meet up with friends for meals and excursions, and to take part in the programmes of the Malaysian Nature Society and the Sarawak Heritage Society. And Kuching is a very sociable place. Most days you end up talking to someone you've never met before.

T is for Twenty-Five, which is the number of years we've now been migrants... T is also for Time Flying.


U is for Unpredictability. That was what U was for last year too... Might as well just write it into the template, but then that would make it predictable, I guess...


V is for The Velvet Cushion. This is like my online hobbies folder, which I randomly fill with stuff on books, movies, songs, languages, travel, etc.

W is for Wish. Given that each of the last five years has been overshadowed by health issues of some sort, my really fervent Wish is for a year that isn't... May it be.

X is for Xcessive, which is an apt description of my "to-read" list. As a child, I was always getting shouted at for "having my head in a book", and I've totally regressed.

Y is for You. Y is always for You, because we always enjoy hearing from you, and -- especially this year -- we've really appreciated your support.

Z is for Zero, and as we dust off our copies of The Final Countdown, and start the slide into 2023, we wish you Z for Zero troubles, and an abundance of good health, peace, hope, and joy.